


Five Times Melinda May Met An Avenger (or Two)

by DrawnToDarkness



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Five Times Story, Friendship, Gen, Humor, I'm Bad At Tagging, Romance, in which melinda may meets the avengers, little dash of angst, pre and post Agents of SHIELD series, secret summer story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-10
Updated: 2014-06-10
Packaged: 2018-02-04 04:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1765846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrawnToDarkness/pseuds/DrawnToDarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The title says it all: five times Melinda May met an Avenger. Or two.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Melinda May Met An Avenger (or Two)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stillaslavetothisdream](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=stillaslavetothisdream).



> Written for the lovely stillaslavetothisdream for the PhilindaSecretSummer exchange on Tumblr. The prompts were: Philinda, family, Avengers, team.

**  
The First Time: Barton & Romanov  
**

Though Barton and Romanov, as Hawkeye and Black Widow respectively, were something of legends amongst SHIELD, Melinda May wasn't phased in the slightest when it came for her to meet them for the first time.

For one thing, she had a reputation of her own – though if anyone called her the Cavalry, they would be sure to regret it – and for another, she'd heard all about Barton and Romanov's exploits, including the ones that didn't quite make it into the official records, from their handler, Agent Phil Coulson. (It was a little hard to be phased by the prospect of meeting the infamous duo, when she knew all about the time they'd had to be rescued – despite not having an extraction plan – because they'd literally found themselves in a sticky situation in a glue factory…)

There were hushed whispers and awe-struck expressions abound. May walked past the star-struck agents, not realising that part of it was due to her presence at the Hub, too. She kept stride with Coulson, who glowered at anyone who got too close to them, and hid a smirk at the unimpressed expression on her partner's face.

They'd been on a mission themselves when Fury had called and insisted on sending replacement agents – Barton and Romanov were Coulson's pet projects and therefore his problem. So Coulson wasn't best impressed to be called back to the Hub, to handle whatever mess – Fury hadn't deigned to say – the Black Widow and Hawkeye had found themselves in.

Agent Victoria Hand was hovering near the elevators leading upstairs – not accidentally, either, May guessed, if the smirk on her face was any indication.

"Agent Coulson, Agent May," she greeted them with a smile that was just short of being sly. "How unexpected to see you here."

"What do you want, Victoria?" Coulson gave her a look that would have quelled a lesser agent. "I'm not in the mood for games."

The corners of Hand's mouth twitched again but she made a concerted effort to keep her expression solemn. "Then you won't be happy when Fury tells the reason you're here."

The trio stepped into the elevator, with May falling into place beside Coulson but, perhaps wisely, choosing not to say anything.

Coulson, for his part, didn't take the bait, not even when a smirk broke out across Hand's face. He kept his expression stoic as the elevator took them up to the top floor and, as soon as the doors opened, strode out with May following behind.

**

Whatever image she had in her mind of the two master assassins Coulson was responsible for was shattered the moment she met Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov. For two of the deadliest agents SHIELD had ever seen, they didn't seem particularly intimidating to May.

Barton stood with his back to the wall, midway between the door to the room and the large window. It was a good vantage point, May decided; he had a clear and unobstructed view of the only ways someone could get into the room. His stance was relaxed, his pose casual. He was already looking at the door when they opened it and slowly straightened when Coulson came into view.

Romanov stood against the wall opposite, arms crossed over her chest. She was younger than May expected her to be, but when she looked up and caught May's gaze, there was a wealth of experience shining in her green eyes.

"What did you do this time?" Coulson asked without preamble. He sounded, May thought with amusement, not unlike an exasperated parent who'd been summoned to school to deal with his tearaway children. 

The two super spies exchanged a wordless look that somehow covered a whole conversation. They moved in perfect sync, pushing off their respective walls and moving to stand in front of him. May felt herself tense; for all they were SHIELD Agents and for all Coulson spoke fondly of them, she couldn't forget they were master assassins and could kill their handler before he had a chance to blink.

Whether they could do it before she could, however...

"Well, we sort of maybe kind of... " Clint Barton, the famous Hawkeye, shrugged and looked to his partner for guidance like a lost little boy.

Romanov rolled her eyes, causing May to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking. "We got married, is what he's trying to say. Accidentally."

There was a moment of silence, and then...

"What do you mean you got married? Accidentally? Would one of you like to explain to me exactly how that's possible? Do you know how many rules you've broken...?" 

May stood behind him, the smirk she'd been trying to contain breaking free. No, they weren't how she'd pictured the infamous duo to be at all...

**  
The Second Time: Tony Stark  
**

Melinda didn't want to be there but she forced herself to attend.

Beside her sat her mother, at the back of the church, clenching her hands into fists as she listened to the kind words that were being spoken about Phil.

He'd died a hero, Fury told the assembled crowd. He'd not only saved New York but he'd saved the world, too.

It didn't make a different to her; the world be damned, she just wanted him back.

Her mother's hand covered hers, and Melinda found herself glad of it. She turned her hand over so it was palm up and allowed her mother to lace their fingers together.

The service was nice, as much as services ever were. She forced herself to stop listening to the words and scanned the crowds instead.

There were so many faces she knew, and an equal number that she didn't. She saw Romanov and Barton, and returned Natasha's solemn nod with one of her own when the younger agent caught her eye. She saw Victoria Hand and Maria Hill, their expressions stoic, giving away nothing of the turmoil she knew that they, as friends of Coulson's, must be feeling.

She saw Audrey, a woman she'd never met but had heard about and felt a pang in her chest at the grief stricken expression the other woman wore. It wouldn't be appropriate, she knew, to go up to her and offer her condolences.

Not when the only thing they had in common was their feelings for the man they were there to say goodbye to.

"I need to get out of here," she whispered to her mother, her lungs suddenly struggling to take in the warm air of the crowded room.

Her mother didn't question it, or tell her to sit still and be quiet. Instead, she patted her hand and simply said, "I will come, too, my Melinda," and stood with her.

It was a beautiful day outside. Glorious sunshine and clear blue skies. Melinda hated it; rain and grey clouds would have been far more appropriate. She slipped her sunglasses over her eyes, forcing herself to breathe in and out, slow and steady.

Waiting, in vain, for the pain in her chest to abate.

Her mother left her side only when the other attendees began to leave the church, having no doubt spotted a familiar face in the crowd from her own SHIELD days.

She was going to retire, Melinda decided then, feeling weary and old, much older than she was. She was going to go to Fury himself, hand in her resignation, tell him she couldn't do it any more.

Tell him...

"I'm sorry to intrude," the voice was unfamiliar and caused her to tense up immediately, her muscles prepared for a fight. She opened her eyes – when had she closed them? – and had to fight to keep her surprise from showing. "I'm Tony Stark. I worked with Agent Coulson."

She took the hand he offered her and shook it politely. "I know who you are, Mr Stark."

And not only because his picture was regularly plastered on every news station and magazine in the country; Stark's alter ego, Iron Man, was very well known throughout SHIELD.

"Barton and Romanov told me who you are," Stark continued, his grip on her hand tightening when she would have pulled away. "I wanted to express my condolences. I'm sorry for your loss."

"I don't know what they've told you," she tried to tug her hand free, arching an eyebrow when he didn't immediately release it, "but I think you'll find the woman deserving of your sympathies is still inside."

Stark gave her a small smile that might've been a smirk if not for the flash of understanding in his eyes. 

Traumatised eyes, May recognised, realising that the battle that had taken Phil from her had also taken something from the great and powerful Tony Stark.

"You were his partner," was all Stark said. "Therefore I'm sorry for your loss. He was a good man, and he will be missed."

Her throat closed, and she was grateful that the tinted lenses of her sunglasses hid the tears that sprung to her eyes. "Thank you," she managed after a moment, and was glad when the woman who had been lurking behind Tony – Pepper Potts, if she wasn't mistaken – chose to intervene.

"We really have to go, Tony," Pepper murmured apologetically. Her gaze shifted to May and sympathy filled her eyes. "My condolences, Agent May."

She nodded; she didn't know what else to do. It felt strange to be the one receiving their well wishes when in her mind and in her heart, she thought their sympathies belonged to someone else.

To someone who hadn't pushed Phil away.

To someone who hadn't tried to cut him out of her life only to realise, now that he was gone, just how much he still and always would mean to her.

And how much she needed him, despite her best efforts not to need anyone.

Lost in her thoughts, she wasn't fully aware when the couple left her – or when someone else took their place. It was only when her new companion cleared his throat that she looked up – and squared her shoulders.

"Agent May."

"Director Fury." This was it, she told herself. Her chance to tell him she was leaving, her chance to get out while she was still alive – not that there was any real reason to, any more, but – 

"Are you aware of the project Agent Coulson was working on before he died?" Fury's question – and the look that accompanied it – both surprised her and caused a sense of unease to settle in the pit of her stomach.

"No, Sir." She wasn't; though she and Phil had still talked, they were both careful about what. Neither had wanted to be the one to bring up something that might have caused unwanted memories to return so they'd shied away from anything potentially triggering. 

Fury stared at her for several moments, assessing her. She stood straighter, feeling Melinda fade and Agent May take her place. "My office, noon tomorrow," Fury ordered, turning on his heel and walking away before she could protest.

Her mother approached her, a partly intrigued, partly wary expression on her face as she, too, watched Fury depart. "What was that about?"

"I don't know." Melinda was honest; she rarely lied to her mother if it was possible to avoid doing so. "But I'm going to find out."

**  
The Third Time – Bruce Banner  
**

Pain was the first thing she registered, the thing that told her she was still alive and not dead as she'd thought.

Death wouldn't hurt, she believed; it was the act of dying that did.

May kept her groan in her throat, clenching her hands – well, the one she could – into a fist with the effort.

The one she couldn't felt warm, heavy. It was only when fingers tightened around her own that she realised she wasn't alone.

"Mel? May?" Coulson's voice, thick with worry in a way she hadn't heard in quite a while. She tried to open her eyes, tried to look at him, but couldn't get her eyelids to comply with the simple order. "Don't move, okay? Try not to move. I – I'll be right back."

The pressure on her hand left, and with it, the warmth. May tried to open her eyes again, the satisfaction she felt at being able to do so quickly taking second place to the discomfort of being in such bright, white surroundings.

Oh.

_Oh._

Unfamiliar panic gripped her for a moment as she realised she wasn't in the med pod on the Bus. 

The walls were white, not grey.

And there was a window that showed blue skies and green trees and city buildings of some sort though it wasn't enough of a glimpse for her to be able to pinpoint her location...

"Relax, Agent May. You're safe." The voice was warm, friendly. Doctor-like but there was a note to it that almost sounded... amused? She looked away from the window to study the doctor only to have her eyes widen in surprise when she recognised him. "I'm Doctor Banner. You're in New York."

"What... How...?" Her voice was hoarse from lack of use, and the soreness of her throat told her she'd probably been on a ventilator for a day or two. "Coulson...?"

"Director Coulson," Banner began as he approached the bed, his amusement becoming more and more apparently, "is no doubt making a groove in Tony's nice new floors with his pacing. He looks pretty good for a dead guy," he added almost conversationally.

May wanted to wince on Coulson's behalf; she couldn't imagine the Hulk's reaction to finding out the agent they'd set out to avenge was actually alive and, well, reasonably well. 

The man himself chose that moment to put his head around the door, concern radiating off him in waves. "Well? Can we come in now?"

"We...?" Before she could finish asking, Banner gave the okay with a stern "as long as you don't wear her out and leave when she gets too tired" and then...

Coulson was the first to enter, taking his place at her side. She assumed he'd spent a considerable amount of time in the chair beside her bedside if the wrinkles in his suit were anything to go by and wasn't sure she wanted to dwell on the warmth that flooded her at the thought.

Before she could let her mind focus on it too much, she realised that he hadn't been alone in entering the room.

Skye hurried in, her eyes shining and her smile bright. Ward wasn't too far behind her, as always, a small, relieved and almost uncertain expression on his face as though she thought he wouldn't be welcome despite all he'd done to prove himself to the team. FitzSimmons were next, in perfect sync with each other, and both looked ready to launch into conversation but were thankfully prevented from doing so by Trip, who gave them a look the moment they opened their mouths.

"Are you sure she's going to be okay?" Coulson asked the question, but directed it at Banner instead of May herself.

Ordinarily, that would have annoyed her but May was feeling suitably tired – and drugged, she suspected, Banner had released more morphine into her IV because she felt more than a little dopey – so let it pass.

"She'll be fine." Banner's gaze seemed almost knowing, too knowing, as he glanced between the two of them. "Agent May will make a complete recovery."

"Good. That's good." Coulson – no, Phil, he was Phil now, not Director Coulson – tightened his hold on her hand and lowered his gaze to her face. 

May looked up at him and wasn't sure she could blame the floaty feeling she felt on just the drugs she'd been given, not when she felt his thumb move in small circles against the back of her hand. 

**  
The Fourth Time – Steve Rogers  
**

She'd always known he was something of a Captain America "fanboy" but it was the first time she'd had a chance to see it in person – and she loved it.

Despite being the new Director of the equally new SHIELD, Coulson was pacing his office about the Bus nervously as he waited for their expected guests. There were only two members of the Avengers he hadn't seen since his resurrection – Barton and Romanov had turned up at Stark Towers days into May's recovery from the gunshot that had almost killed her, and Stark himself had been there from her first day there so they'd had their reunion already.

Today was the day Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America and Phil's childhood (and adulthood, it had to be said) hero, and Thor, Demi-God and Asgardian royalty, had their chance to reunite with the man they'd thought was dead.

(May would never admit to having butterflies fluttering in her own stomach at the thought of coming face-to-face with the only and only Thor. Never.)

But Coulson was nervous.

Very, very nervous.

He kept straightening his tie, and then fidgeting with it so it needed to be straightened again.

He kept smoothing out creases in his suit jacket that were only visible to him.

He kept checking his watch to make sure they weren't late – which they weren't – and looking towards the door as though he expected them to have somehow entered the office without him noticing.

"Relax." Tiring of his pacing and because his nervous energy was beginning to affect her, too, May pushed herself up from where she'd been perched on the edge of the desk and purposely stood in his way when he turned to pace in the opposite direction. "Phil."

He stopped and looked at her, his shoulders slumping under her gaze. "I'm just nervous."

"I can tell." A few months ago, she might have resisted the urge to reach out for him. A few months ago, before her latest brush with death, she hadn't realised how deeply his feelings for her still ran. May reached out to straight his tie, her hands lingering against his shirt. She brushed imaginary lint from his jacket and bit back a smile when he took half a step closer and let his own hands rest on her hips. "You don't have to be nervous."

"I don't?" His hands flexed on her hips, his thumbs beginning to move in slow circles, slipping beneath her top to stroke the skin beneath. "We have the First Avenger and God of Thunder turning up on the Bus any minute now."

"We've had Asgardians and Avengers on the Bus before," May reminded him, moving just that little bit closer. She tilted her face just so, her lips mere inches from his. "If you think a distraction would help, Director, I'd be more than happy to oblige..."

His lips were just touching hers, her eyes just about to close, when the door the office burst open.

"Hey, AC, you have visitors and –" Skye's excited voice cut off abruptly. "And we're obviously interrupting something so we can just go entertain them ourselves..."

They pulled apart. Coulson's cheeks flushed but May merely smiled. They turned as one to face the door, where Skye stood with the first of their two expected guests.

"Agent Coulson. Director, I mean." Captain Steve Rogers smiled politely. May bit the inside of her cheek to keep back her smirk at the almost embarrassed look on his face, one that mimicked the expression arranging Coulson's own features. "I'm sorry to interrupt but Agent...?" He glanced at Skye. "I'm sorry, Miss, I seem to have forgotten to ask your surname...?"

"Oh, I don't have one." Skye waved it away, looking positively gleeful at having been called 'Miss'. "I'm just Skye. And you're Captain America. AC talks about you all the time."

"I do not," Coulson protested, giving his protégé a glare that was only partly mocking.

"Most of the time," Skye corrected, shrugging when Coulson only continued to glare at her. "Some of the time?"

Unable to help it, May chuckled at the faces of the two men in the room and decided to take pity on them. "Skye, why don't you help me make our guest a drink? Is it coffee or tea, Captain?"

"Coffee is fine, Ma'am." Captain Rogers smiled at her. "You must be Agent May. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." May gave Coulson a reassuring look over her shoulder before heading to the door, taking Skye by the arm when the younger woman looked like she planned to stay put. "Come on, Skye. Let's leave them to catch up."

**  
The Fifth Time – Thor  
**

"I am here to see Phil, Son of Coul."

The voice seemed to rumble like thunder through the otherwise still plane. Appropriate, given that it belonged to an actual god of thunder.

May and Skye, the former who had been preparing coffee for Coulson and Captain Rogers and the latter who'd been sitting watching while playing with packets of sugar, both straightened.

And looked at each other.

And, for a moment, froze.

Thor, of the golden hair and dreamy arms, was on the Bus.

"He's in his office," that was Ward, who sounded understandably wary at the prospect of there being an Asgardian on the plane. "I can show you the way or – Agent May? Thor is here to see Agent Coulson."

It took her a mortifying moment to remember how to speak as Thor – actual Thor – stared at her curiously. "Of course. I was just making coffee."

"Ah, coffee." Thor smiled. "I like coffee."

"Oh, I'll make you some." Skye immediately got up from her stool, her smile dazzling. Ward scowled, and it was exactly what May needed to shake her out of the momentary stupor that had settled over her. "How do you take it? Milk? Cream? Sugar?"

"Why don't you just set everything up on a tray and bring it up to Coulson's office when you're done?" May suggested when Thor looked a little confused at the question. "I'll show you the way. Captain Rogers is already here."

Leaving Skye to placate an almost sulking Ward while fixing drinks for their guests, May led Thor from the kitchenette area towards the staircase leading up to Coulson's office.

"You are Agent May, are you not?" Thor asked her as they made their way up the stairs.

"I am." And something about the way he asked made her feel... nervous?

"Then we are family." Thor beamed at her, seeming not to notice her surprise. "You are the mate of Phil, Son of Coul, are you not?"

"Mate...?" May repeated the word a little dumbly. "Um, we're not... We don't really use that term..."

"But you are his... partner?" Thor tried, his brow furrowed. "You and he are –"

"We're together, yes," she answered quickly, hoping her face didn't look as warm as it felt.

Thor grinned again. "Then we are family," he declared, turning on the small landing at the top of the stairs to face her. Before she could react, he reached out with those very dreamy arms of his and clasped her to him in a firm embrace. "I am glad he has you, sister."

Thor released her before she could get her voice to work and turned away, striding towards the door with a confident gait. She couldn't have stopped him from swinging it open even if she'd tried so instead settled for following him at a slightly slower, slightly stunned pace...

... only to stop in the doorway, a smile spreading across her face.

She wasn't the only person Thor had decided to embrace if the enthusiastic back-pounding Coulson was enduring was any indication. May wondered if she should be concerned at the strength of the blows but she caught sight of a pleased expression on her lover's face so stood back and let it happen, exchanging an amused glance with Captain Rogers instead.

**  
Bonus: The Sixth (though technically first) time: Phil Coulson  
**

It was her first mission since graduating from the Academy and Melinda May was nervous.

Not that she was letting it show.

Nope.

She fixed an almost bored expression on her face she travelled through the endless corridors of the Hub, an expression that shifted into one of rapt interest when she took her place at the large table in the conference room to be briefed on the mission specifications. 

Though she appeared to be hanging on every word of the team leader, she took the opportunity to study her fellow agents, spotting the seasoned pros from the rookies like herself in an instant. 

They all looked... interesting, she decided, was probably the right word. There was her team leader, who she could only describe as enthusiastic and Agent Victoria Hand, a rookie like herself, who was writing copious notes while somehow managing to still sit upright in her chair. Sitting across from them was another experienced agent – their team leader's partner, she recalled – who appeared to be half-asleep, and next to him sat another rookie agent, one who appeared to be listening with rapt attention but turned to look at her, catching her eye, as if he'd sensed her gaze on him.

Melinda bit her lip, wishing she hadn't been caught staring but unable to look away.

She'd heard about the man sitting directly opposite. A rookie agent like herself, fresh out of the Academy, though he already had a reputation amongst their peers. Agent Phil Coulson, it was said, was already on the fast-track, having somehow impressed the Director despite his inexperience. How he'd done that, she didn't know, especially since he looked like a typical paper-pusher, complete with wrinkle-free suit and perfectly straight tie.

If only she'd known then just how big of an impact that supposed paper-pusher was going to have on both the mission, and her life...

**

The mission was, mostly, a success.

A lot of that was down to the man sitting next to her in the bar as well as her own actions.

Phil thanked the bartender for their drinks and slid hers across the shiny surface towards her, lifting his own glass in a toast. "To our first mission," he proposed, "and getting through it in one piece."

Melinda huffed a laugh and clinked her glass with his. "No thanks to our team leaders."

"No," Phil agreed, his smile small but affectionate, enough to make warmth spread through her. "Mostly down to you. You were amazing."

She blushed; she couldn't help it. "You helped," she protested. "If you hadn't distracted them, we would never have gotten out of there. That was very diplomatic of you."

"It's one of my strengths." He shrugged off the praise. "Just as yours is kicking butt and taking names. I've not seen anyone fight like that. You were amazing," he repeated, with just enough awe in his voice to make her blush deepen. "Maybe you could teach me one or two of those moves sometime?"

Melinda took a sip of her drink, the warm liquid burning its way down her throat and bolstering her confidence. "Maybe one day I will."

**  
End.


End file.
